


Broken Windows

by Miss_Nyss



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: Alternate Universe - Bookstore, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Minor Character Death, Romance, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Swearing, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-08-31
Updated: 2015-09-01
Packaged: 2018-04-18 09:29:01
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 4,516
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4700918
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Miss_Nyss/pseuds/Miss_Nyss
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What does a mild mannered bookstore owner and a fiercely aggressive mixed martial artist have in common? Well a broken window that needs fixing for one. **Rated M for foul language, violence, drug abuse and possible sexual content in later chapters.** Fairy Tail is owned by Hiro Mashima.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Levy McGarden

**Author's Note:**

> Yoooo. So this is a fic I'm working on. Not much to say. I know the summary was kind of vague but basically it's an AU were Levy owns a book store and Gajeel is a mixed martial artist or a UFC fighter but he's rarely in any legitimate leagues. Gajeel has a nasty habit of causing problems for himself and sometimes those around him blah, blah, blah. You'll see as you read. This fic is a VERY slow burn. I should warn you that there is a lot of reference to substance abuse in Broken Windows. I hope you enjoy it.
> 
> And just so it's out there... I have this work posted on Fanfiction.net as well but since it's a piece that I'm still working on, and I only very recently set up my AO3, I wanted to post it over here as well.
> 
> Fairy Tail and all of it's characters are owned by Hiro Mashima.

Levy McGarden stood, hands on her hips, broad smile on her face, gazing at a quaint, two story building. It wasn't all that impressive. A small plain little red brick structure, its most distinguishing feature being the massive bay windows located on either side of the door. At the moment each window sported a banner stating in large letters _ **'GRAND OPENING'**_. With a giddy little skip Levy walked up to the front door. She stopped before entering and brushed her fingers across the words that had been painted onto the door only days before. _'The Garden'_ the door said. In slightly smaller letters below that, _'New and Gently Used Books'._ With a happy sigh Levy let herself in and flipped the open sign to closed.

Once inside she locked the door and shut the blinds, doing the same to the bay windows.

"We did it, Dad," she said to the empty shop. "We finally turned that dream into something good."

Levy couldn't keep the smile from her face and she remembered the long conversations she and her father used have about opening their own bookstore one day. The two would spend hours talking about how it would be. They discussed the books that would line the shelves and of how many customers they would have. Even after he had passed away Levy could remember telling him how she imagined the bookstore would look. She would give him every tiny, insignificant piece of information she could think of.

"We're getting close," she would sometimes whisper to the photo of him she had in her living room. Now she was finally there.

In the storage room there came a loud thump, followed by a muffled swear.

"God damn it Droy!"

Levy grinned and bit back a laugh before slipping into the storage room herself to watch her two friends and temporary employees bicker about the box of books Droy had just dropped. Any one who hadn't known the two for a long time would have a very difficult time believing the two were friends. Although both men were slightly above average height that was where the similarities ended. Jet was lean and had fair hair and light eyes whereas Droy was a pudgy man with dark hair and eyes. Day and night, Jet and Droy were, and not just in their looks.

"Shut up, Jet!" Droy was saying. "You shouldn't have startled me."

"How the hell did I scare you. We've been in the same room for almost half an hour!" Jet snapped back.

"Startled!" Droy corrected his friend irately.

Levy decided to step in at that point before one of them stormed off. "Alright boys, that's more than enough," Levy broke in, leaning down to help them collect the books off the floor. Both men started then blushed furiously.

"We didn't see you there," Jet mumbled. "You can be really quiet when you want to be."

"Sorry for dropping these," Droy said, waving vaguely at the last book still on the floor.

Levy grabbed the last book and took a look at the cover. It was just another bad teen supernatural romance novel.

Levy shrugged as she put it in the box."Don't worry about it. That thing has bad literature written all over it. You couldn't pay me to read something as silly as that."

Droy smiled at her, relieved that she wasn't angry, before picking the box up and placing it on on of the shelves.

"Had it been a good book like _The Giver_ or _The Help_ I would have had to fire you for sure though," she teased.

Both men smiled and let out a light laugh.

Levy rocked back on her heels and clasped her hands behind her back, gazing around the room. It was still a mess with boxes and loose books laying about, despite Jet and Droy's efforts. Later she would have to work towards organizing the room properly, but for now that could wait.

"So," she said, turning her attention to her friends. "Did we do okay today?"

"Of course!" Droy said.

"I'm not sure we could have had a better possible opening," Jet agreed. "The weather was perfect today."

"All the promoting we did really paid off," Droy added.

"I'm really glad Lucy was able to help with that."

"Shame she couldn't be here today."

"Well she'll be in tomorrow."

"Yeah but we won't." The two bantered for awhile longer, chatting about the ridiculous amount of customers they'd each helped and how many books they had sold.

"You may want to order some more copies of _The Fault In Our Stars_ ," Jet said, "It's really popular since the movie just came out and all."

Levy nodded.

"You should also add _The Maze Runner_ to that list. There's only four or five copies left and that's after only one day."

"Sounds good," Levy said. "It was the grand opening today so I imagine things will quiet down and steady out before long."

Levy turned away from her friends and walked back into the main store. Jet and Droy followed suit, closing the door behind them.

"So, do you guys want to join me for a celebratory dinner or do you have to get home?"

"Depends,"Jet said with a smirk, "Will we still be on the clock when you feed us?"

Levy laughed but Droy punched his friend, "Don't be such an ass. If you piss her off she may not invite us over for dinner again."

"Of course I would," Levy tutted. She rested her hands on her hips. "I could never turn away my best friends and most faithful employees."

Jet rolled his eyes at her playful sarcasm and started making his way to the spiral staircase near the back of the store that lead to Levy's apartment.

"Besides, who said I was the one cooking?"

* * *

 

Levy stood in front of the stove, stirring a pot of spaghetti sauce while Jet and Droy set the table. Jet was talking about how his girlfriend was going to Mexico for two weeks with her parents.

"Ya, her cousins getting married down their so her parents decided to make a big family trip out of it. Her brother and his wife are going too."

"Weren't you invited?" Droy asked. "I thought her parents liked you."

"Yeah, they like me fine and they did invite me but I just don't have the time to go. The wedding is in like a month. It's not enough time for me to plan anything at all. Besides, Levy doesn't have enough staff here yet for me to go."

Jet turned to Levy, putting his hands up.

"Not that I'm blaming you or anything."

"Of course not," Levy said. "I know what you meant. And you're right. Including myself I only have four staff members. I absolutely have to hire at least one more person, if not two."

"Well, you don't have to rush or anything. It looks like we can manage things for the time being at least," Droy put in.

Levy nodded and noticed that the water was boiling for the pasta. Before she could reach for it her phone began to ring. She asked Droy to take care of the pasta and went into her bedroom before answering her phone.

"Hello. Levy McGarden speaking," she said.

"Hey Lev, It's Lucy," came a cheerful reply.

"Oh hey Luce, are you back?"

"Just about. I'm in a cab on my way home. So how'd it go?" Lucy sounded excited to hear, like they were talking about Levy going on a date rather than her running a business.

"It went even better than expected. You should have seen it Lucy, I lost count of how many customers came in. And I already need to order at least three more titles in."

 

"That's great! I really with I could have been there," Lucy sounded almost mournful that she hadn't been at the store that day.

"It's alright," Levy said. "I know that the convention was important to you. How did that go by the way?"

"It was great!" Now Lucy sounded really excited. "There were workshops for every style of writing. They had, like, a million different seminars and you'll never guess who one of the speakers was!"

"Who?" Levy asked, genuinely curious. "The one and only J.K. Rowling! In the flesh. It was amazing Levy! I thought I had a good handle on writing but the stuff that I learned was phenomenal!"

"That's great Lucy," Levy said. "You can tell me the rest of the details tomorrow, okay? I've got dinner on the stove right now. I'm pretty sure it's almost done. If you want you can come over and join us. Jet and Droy and I are just celebrating."

"I'd love to but I really need some sleep. Big day tomorrow and all." She punctuated the sentence with a yawn.

"Okay, sounds good. I'll be sure to save you some."

"Thanks Levy," Lucy replied, yawning again. "Well I'm just about home so I'm gonna let you go. See you tomorrow."

"Yup, see you then." After she hung up she tossed her phone on the bed. The phone hit the blankets, then bounced back up and flopped onto the floor on the other side of her bed with a soft thump. Levy sighed and crawled onto her bed. She laid down on her stomach and peered over the edge. Since she lived alone she had pushed her bed so that it nearly hit the other wall. If not for the large base boards that produced the obscene amounts of heat Levy felt she needed come the winter months she would have it right against the wall. She laid down on her stomach and peered over the edge of the bed.

Her phone had disappeared in all of the random things she had sitting next to it. She sighed again and began picking through the junk, promising to clean it all up before winter. She grabbed some clothes and threw them in the general direction of the hamper, then pushed some sporting equipment she rarely used out of the way. Her phone was right next to a dejected looking base ball bat, half hidden under the bed. She grabbed her phone and shimmied off the bed before rejoining Jet and Droy for dinner.

In the dinning room, Jet and Droy were already sitting at the table, waiting for her.

"Sorry," Levy said as she joined them. "It was Lucy. She just wanted to let me know that she was almost home."

Droy nodded.

"That's good. Did she mention how that writers seminar thing went?"

Nodding, Levy spooned some pasta onto her plate.

"She had a fantastic time by the sound of it. Apparently J.K. Rowling was there."

"Cool," commented Jet. He was digging through his bag at the moment.

Levy cocked her head to the side before asking, "Jet? What are you doing?"

"Getting my congratulation gift," Jet murmured before pulling out a very expensive looking bottle of wine.

Droy stood up and went to the cupboard to get wine glasses.

"Oh, Jet," Levy said, trying to suppress a grin. "You really didn't need to get that."

"Oh yes he did," Droy said as he returned with the glasses and a cork screw. "After all the work you put into 'The Garden' you damn well deserve this."

Levy smiled at her friends, "I think that this has quite possibly been the best day of my entire life."

"Damn straight," said Jet, opening the bottle and pouring each of them a glass. Then he raised his glass and Levy and Droy followed suit.

"To Levy!"


	2. Gajeel Redfox

Gajeel Redfox watched the smoke he exhaled curl in the air and he flicked ash from his cigarette. He walked slowly, despite having somewhere to be tonight. He still had plenty of time to get there. Besides, as per usual, he was waiting on his companion. Sort of.

"Go on ahead!" Is what Natsu had yelled at him from the third story window of his apartment. The pink haired idiot was struggling with a shirt when he stuck his head out the window. "I can catch up!"

Gajeel had just sighed and lit a cigarette, then turned and walked away.

True to his word, Natsu came jogging up behind him before Gajeel could even finish his smoke.

"You got one for me?" he asked, pointing at the cigarette dangling from Gajeel's lips.

"Tch." He snorted. "Wouldn't give you one even if I did have any left. Dumb ass."

Natsu gave him that shit-eating grin of his before readjusting the bag hanging off one of his shoulders.

"Sorry I wasn't ready sooner. I took a nap and slept through the alarm," said Natsu with a huff.

Gajeel grunted in response and the pair lapsed into silence as they walked.

Natsu quickly tired of the quiet and cast a sidelong look at his companion before speaking. "So, Juvia still going out with what's-his-fuck?"

Gajeel groaned, "Don't even ask. For the love of God don't ask." He ran his fingers through his hair.

Natsu laughed, "It can't have ended that badly, right?"

"You're wrong. Although, she did say that she's done with other men now. Something about remaining devoted to Gray or something stupid and semi-poetic like that. I really do hope she's finally given up on using other guys as a band-aid for not bein' able to shack up with Stripper Boy."

"Has she been crying a lot?"

"Enough to flood the fucking apartment," replied Gajeel solemnly.

"And you didn't do anything to make her feel better?" Natsu pressed, a disapproving tone seeping into his words.

"I bought her Ben and Jerry's and told her to stop being a little bitch about it."

"Wow," Natsu said. "You are literally the worst person."

"It's how I normally help her cope with her break-ups and it's worked fine so far." Gajeel shrugged and pulled out a pack of cigarettes. He opened the pack and was greeted by empty space.

"You just said you were out of them like two minutes ago," laughed Natsu as he plucked the empty package from his hands and tossed it in a garbage bin they were passing by.

Gajeel sighed almost mournfully as Natsu tossed the empty package away. He ran his his hands through his hair and fished an elastic from his jacket pocket. He stuck the band between his teeth before reigning in his hair. As per usual, his fingers caught in the tangled mess a few times, but he'd never once considered cutting any of it off. Not in many, many years. Finally, after gathering the hair together at the nape of his neck, he quickly twisted the elastic around and around until he was satisfied that it was secure.

"So how's that job of yours going?" Natsu asked as they drew ever closer to their destination. "That new housing development or whatever."

Gajeel groaned. "It's almost done," he complained. "And then it's back to pounding the pavement."

"Oh, come on, it's not so bad," said Natsu, shouldering his friend.

Gajeel grunted and pushed back, sending Natsu a bit off balance due to his bag. Natsu stumbled a bit and threatened to topple over completely, but Gajeel grabbed a hold of Natsu's shirt and righted him before that could happen.

Gajeel grabbed Natsu's bag and weighed it a bit on each arm before tossing it back to the younger man.

"What the hell is in that thing?" he asked. "It should not be that heavy."

Natsu shrugged and put it on, "Just some of my stuff. I'll go through it eventually. Seriously though, what's the big deal with getting a new job?"

"I just hate doing it. Job hunting's not really my thing. I mean, look at me," he tugged at his clothes. "I don't exactly scream employable."

"You look fine to me."

"Ya, but you've seen me at my worst," Gajeel said. "And you're a total fucking idiot."

"Oh, fuck you," Natsu said, punching him in the arm. "Seriously though, what's wrong with the way you look? And what's that got to do with you getting a job?"

"You are twenty-five years old, dude. Can you really be that naive?" Gajeel asked, throwing his hands in the air. Natsu was about to reply but Gajeel waved his hands, cutting him off. "Never mind, of course you can. You've been raised surrounded by optimists and the likes."

"Being optimistic doesn't make a person naive," Natsu pouted.

"Whatever. You've had the same job since you were, like, eighteen. You haven't had to job hunt as much as I have." Gajeel noted they were getting very close to their destination. "Just trust me when I tell you, it sucks."

"I'll take your word for it I guess." Natsu said. "Are you going to get back into construction, you think, or what?"

"Not much point. There isn't a lot of construction work in the winter. The weather doesn't really permit it. To be honest I just really want a steady job. It doesn't even have to be full time. It's not like I don't make enough money in the ring. I just need something to keep me occupied and keep Makarov off my back."

Natsu nodded, "Well, good luck."

With that, the pair rounded the corner and arrived at their destination.

Gajeel blinked as light and sound assaulted his senses. Natsu did the same. The pair had always been a bit more sensitive than most to things like that. Their walk had ended at an old pub in a more industrial area of town. The pub's parking lot had been cleared of any cars. Instead dozens of people milled around a large hexagonal cage and several floodlights. Gajeel stepped in front of Natsu and the pair began to pick their way through the crowd, trying to reach the cage. As they got closer they were able to see that the cage was lifted a few feet off the ground and had most definitely seen better days. The mat was stained with sweat, dirt and blood and the chain link fence was warped in several places. Gajeel frowned at it and turned back to Natsu.

"Try not to contract AIDs while your in there,"

"I don't think that's how that works."

"Shaddup," Gajeel snapped, whacking Natsu across the side of the head. "Smart ass."

"Boys!" A voice hollered over the din in the lot. Gajeel turned his back to his friend in time to see a tall, nervous looking man scurry towards them. He made this nervous gesture over and over again and kept wiping sweat off his dark skin.

"Good to see you Nadi," Gajeel stuck out his hand which Nadi excepted.

"You as well Gajeel. When Lily said that you could help me out tonight," Nadi wiped sweat off his brow again, "I can't tell you how relieved I was. I was quite frustrated to know that the guy who normally fights for me ended up in jail." He was looking around, continuing to make his strange gesture. "It wouldn't be so bad if I hadn't already set up this fight but I have and -" he cut himself off and looked back at Gajeel then over his shoulder at Natsu. "Thanks again for taking this fight on such short notice."

"It's not a problem," Natsu piped up. "It'll be nice to fight outside a gym again. It's been a while for me."

Nadi nodded vigorously. "Well just remember how rough some of these guys can get," He warned.

"Don't worry to much about the hot head. Surprisingly enough, he's not all talk."

"Screw you too, Gaj."

Nadi laughed a bit. "Well, I'll leave you to it then. Come see me at the end of the fight, okay? If you can't find me just go wait by my car," he pointed to one of the ones parked on the street. "Twelve hundred if you win but only six if you loose and that's after I've taken my cut. Good luck." With that Nadi turned away and disappeared into the crowd.

"Easy money," Natsu said. He radiated confidence and excitement.

"Hmm," replied Gajeel. "Come on, let's get you ready. Looks like the fight's gonna start in a bit."

Ten minutes later Gajeel stood just outside the cage, watching Natsu bounce from one foot to the other. The idiot had a massive smile plastered on his face as he rolled his shoulders and waited for the match to begin. Gajeel had barely glanced at his opponent before deciding that Natsu would have this match in a matter of moments. The other guy radiated a bloated sense of self confidence and he wore an ugly sneer on his face, as though he was positive he was better than every other person around him. He was bigger than Natsu but that wouldn't save him. Natsu hit a lot harder than most thought possible—and he was fast.

"Natsu!" Gajeel shouted.

Natsu looked over his shoulder, raising an eyebrow.

"Don't fuck up!"

He grinned, showing off his mouth guard. Then the bell rang and he turned away.

As expected Natsu had made short work of his opponent. The guy had actually gone down a lot quicker than Gajeel would have expected, given his size. The bell had barely finished ringing before Natsu had sprung on his opponent. As was the true style of the young fighter he hit with nearly unmatched ferocity and speed. The bigger, slower man never knew what hit him. Gajeel couldn't help but laugh at how quickly Natsu was able to wipe that smirk off the greasy fuck's face. The other guy was quickly backed into a corner with his hand up to protect his head. Natsu was undeterred and struck out with his leg. His knee came up and connected with Greasy's stomach with a solid thump and he doubled over. Natsu took the opportunity to get him into a nice headlock and in less than a minute, Greasy had tapped out.

 

"One-thousand-one. One-thousand-two," Nadi finished counting the money before placing it into Gajeel's hand. "You did a pretty good number on your opponent today, Natsu. I'm really very impressed."

"Ya, well, it comes with being awesome," Natsu boasted with a laugh.

Gajeel rolled his eyes and shook Nadi's hand again, "Thanks again for the tip on this fight."

"No, thank you," replied Nadi, wiping sweat off his brow again. "I would have been in a real pinch if you hadn't convinced Natsu to come out tonight."

"It didn't take much convincing to be honest," Gajeel looked at Natsu. "As always, this one's rarin' for any fight."

"Damn right I am."

Nadi nodded, "Well, you two have a good night. I'll see you again soon, I'm sure."

With that, Nadi turned and waved before returning to his car.

"Here," Gajeel said, handing over all the money Nadi had just given him.

"You haven't taken your share," Natsu said, frowning.

"Haven't done anything to earn a share."

"I wouldn't have even had a fight tonight if you hadn't asked me." Natsu pulled a few bills from the rest. "Just take a couple hundred bucks."

Gajeel considered trying to refuse the money but knew it would just lead to an argument and the money would find its way into his bag or apartment in the end. So, with a sigh he took the money and stuffed it in his pocket.

"Fine, you happy now?"

Natsu grinned, "Yup. Now, I'm gonna go grab a beer or two before I go home. How bout you?"

Gajeel shrugged, "I've got tomorrow off so there's no harm in a few drinks."

 

It was nearly 2:00 AM before the pair made it out of the bar. Neither had really had too much to drink. Instead they had kicked ass at pool, making the night even more profitable in the process. Of course, it also meant that they had made a few new enemies. Obviously, drunk men who lost their money and their pride were quick to anger.

"You coming by the gym tomorrow?" Natsu asked as they walked away from the still busy pub.

"Maybe," Gajeel replied, yanking his hair free from its pony tail. "Gramps wants to talk to me, so I probably should get over there soon. Don't know if I'll stick around though."

"What's he wanna talk you about?" Nastu asked.

Gajeel shrugged. "Hell if I know," he lied easily. He didn't like lying but, he had gotten very good at it over the years. It was just part of his life—it had been for a really long time. Very few people knew just how convincing a liar he could be.

I should be a fucking actor, Gajeel thought, I'm totally Brad Pitt material.

He chuckled at the thought and Natsu gave him a look, "What's so funny?"

Gajeel shook his head. "Nothing."

Natsu opened his mouth the speak again but before he could, a bottle sailed by his head and crashed to the ground somewhere to his right.

Both men snapped to attention, turning to whoever had thrown the bottle. Gajeel recognized him instantly as the greasy motherfucker from the fight earlier. It was obvious that the guy was completely hammered, and right pissed off. Gajeel wouldn't have been worried except for the fact that he was flanked by three more guys. Gajeel recognized them from pool.

"What the fuck!" Natsu snapped, taking a step forward.

"Natsu."

"You fuckers think you can just come over here and take out money just like that, huh?" Greasy asked.

"We didn't take anyone's money!" Natsu growled back. "It's not my problem that you're a shit fighter."

"Natsu!" Gajeel repeated, his voice sharper this time. Gajeel wasn't a fool. Drunk or not, four against two were not good odds.

"What'd you just say t'me?!" shouted Greasy. "Get off your high horse you little pink fuck."

"Or maybe we should just knock you off," one of the others said, stepping forward. The rest followed suit, getting slightly closer.

Ever the careless hothead, Natsu spread his arms wide, taking another step of his own, "Bring it!"

Gajeel realized that Natsu was drunker than he had originally thought. "Oh no," he said, grabbing Natsu by the collar and swinging him around. "We are not doing this. Not today."

"Like hell you ain't!" Greasy shouted, charging forward and taking a swing at Gajeel.

Gajeel easily avoided the blow and retaliated by smashing his fist into Greasy's nose. He felt it crack, and blood spewed onto his hand. The man howled and reeled back, clutching his nose. Gajeel wasted no time; he spun on his heels and made a break for it, pushing Natsu ahead of him.

"We can take 'em!" howled Natsu as they ran.

"The fact the your actually running tells me you're smart enough to know that's not true! Now come on!"

Gajeel could hear the drunks following them and he growled in frustration.

Oh yeah, no harm in a few drinks. No harm at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've changed the format because there's a tone of editing involved in using the rich format so I'm gonna stick with HTML from here on out I think. Anyways, Hope you enjoy.


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